Teaming up again
A
new collaboration between
Ebenezer and Ayres Associates
broke ground just a few months
ago and is expected to open next
summer. The Lake Elmo Senior Living
building will be larger but similar
to Red Rock Senior Living in many
ways. Jill Nokleby Kaiser says the
project has gotten off to a smooth
start. “Matt (Frisbie) incorporated all
our feedback [from Red Rock],” she
said. “We got done in the first two
meetings what would normally have
taken six or seven meetings to work
out, because he listened.”
there.’ And then to be creative
along the way, and if there’s
something that’s a challenge, help
us to fix it. Matt did a very good job
at that. He just gets it.”
“We looked at all the recent
research on senior housing to see
what was new and most helpful for
seniors and the staff who work with
them,” Frisbie said. “We knew we
wanted it to be convenient and have
it really open and full of natural
light. You’ve got residents that you
hope you can make their lives better
and their families’ lives better, and
then there are the staff and how do
you improve their lives.”
Communication was vital during
the design process, and Frisbie and
Burnam worked hand-in-hand with
Ebenezer to ensure that the focused
design time resulted in better
health care services for Ebenezer’s
residents and staff.
6│TRENDS
“In the end what we ended up
doing was using the site’s problems
– the size and the grade – to our
advantage,” Burnam said. “It took
a lot of design concepts, but we
finally got to the point where we
had a compact yet open layout.
We built an underground garage
into the hillside – which is great
for Minnesota winters – and took
advantage of the height to get that
great vantage point on the second
floor.”
The end result has been a success
for both Ebenezer and the residents.
“It’s all about the residents,” Juan
said. “Ultimately if they’re happy
and their families are happy, then
we’re happy. And the residents and
staff seem to love it.”
“I would say it was the best thing
I ever did to come,” Freeman
beamed. “It’s a wonderful place.”